Trip: Suiattle Crest 50 Mile Adventure Run

Date: 8/4/2009

Trip Report:
Colin Abercrombie and I completed a 50 mile adventure run loop in the Glacier Peak Wilderness that includes 12,500+ ft of elevation gain and passes through six passes (Little Giant Pass, High Pass, Buck Creek Pass, Suiattle Pass, Cloudy Pass, Spider Gap). We did the loop in 13:37, but our progress was often slowed by stops to photograph the amazing scenery. A large portion of this extremely aesthetic loop follows near the Cascade crest along the Suiattle River drainage, hence the name “Suiattle Crest 50 mile.” While we climbed no summits, the alpine flavor and grand vistas along the way make this a classic outing.


Alternatively, the movie can watched on Vimeo.

Colin designed this giant loop which is remarkably close to 50 miles in distance and covers virtually all the highlights in the region. There are essentially two scenic areas of the loop – the Napeequa Valley/High Pass region and the Lyman Lakes area – separated by 10+ miles of relatively uninteresting trail in the woods between Buck Creek Pass and Suiattle Pass, with a significant extra hill climb over Middle Ridge. We started at Little Giant TH and I recommend doing the route clockwise beginning with the climb up to Little Giant Pass. The first 16 miles from Little Giant TH to High Pass are the most arduous with the steepest climbs, brush (very wet and very cold from dew in the morning), some off-trail travel, and routefinding issues. After High Pass, the complexities are mainly over as the trails improve allowing for more running. Doing the loop clockwise provides for a relatively easy 13-mile finish along the Phelps Creek Trail and dirt road from Phelps Creek TH back to Little Giant TH. A shorter option that is very popular with backpackers is the ~37 mile Spider Gap/Buck Creek Pass Loop. This option avoids the complexities of Napeequa Valley and the ascent to High Pass, but the beautiful scenery in the Napeequa Valley and around High Pass is well worth the extra effort and mileage.

Location (Elevation): Time Elapsed / Split / Real Time
Little Giant TH (2,600 ft) : 0 / 0 / 04:55
Little Giant Pass (6,409 ft) : 1:35:24 / 1:35:24 / 06:30
High Pass (6,876 ft) : 5:35:31 / 4:00:06 / 10:31
Buck Creek Pass (5,796 ft) : 6:43:15 / 1:07:43 / 11:38
Cloudy Pass (6,420 ft) : 9:18:52 / 2:35:37 / 14:14
Spider Gap (7,040 ft) : 11:00:02 / 1:41:09 / 15:55
Phelps Creek TH (3,500 ft) : 12:42:38 / 1:42:36 / 17:38
Little Giant TH (2,600 ft) : 13:37:23 / 54:45 / 18:42


Clark Mountain from Little Giant Pass




Napeequa Valley


River Bends






Walrus Glacier


Clark Mountain and Richardson Glacier




Luahna and Pilz Glacier


Triad Lake








Glacier Peak from High Pass


View across Buck Creek Valley to Fortress and Chiwawa














Upper Suiattle River




Meadows!












Miners Ridge and Plummer Mountain


Carpet of trees below Suiattle Pass


Agnes Creek Valley from near Suiattle Pass


View of Lyman Lakes Basin and Chiwawa Mountain from Cloudy Pass


Panorama from Cloudy Pass




Lower Lyman Lake


Bonanza Peak






Lyman Glacier Remnant








Spider Meadows and Phelps Creek Valley







Gear Notes:
La Sportiva Fireblade Trail Running Shoes, SaltStick electrolyte caps, Clif Shot Bloks, Ultimate Direction Handholders and the Ultimate Direction Wasp pack.

Approach Notes:
The forest service has done a good job logging out the Little Giant Pass Trail and the Phelps Creek Trail. Napeequa Valley is brushy, and the brush is very wet and very cold in the morning! The path up to High Pass is difficult to spot as it climbs from the Napeequa Valley, but it is worth looking for. The path is a bit overgrown, but nothing compared to the slide alder mess you will encounter otherwise. There are a few large logs remaining on the stretch between Buck Creek Pass and Suiattle Pass to jump over or walk around.

Wow! With your great pictures coming through so often, I guess I can quit buying coffee table books! Great effort and TR.
My wife and I did the Spider/Lyman Lake/Image Lake/Buck Creek Pass loop 30 years ago in 5 days and thought we were moving pretty well.

Yeah Leor. You're killing it! You gotta drag me along for one of these.

Yes, that looks like an awesome week out in the mountains (for some of us). Thanks for sharing your awesome photos, I always enjoy your TR's.

helluva job Leor!!

Damn, you just don't quit! I'm curious, how are you training for these runs? Do you just put on a lot of miles during the week, or what? Great pics by the way.

Sounds like a sweet 3 day trip to me!! Amazing to get it done in 13+hrs. Ya'll just keep rolling!! Keep up the amazing pics!!

don't make me start doing more beacon tr's goddammit!

the glacier remnant pic is sweet - now sprain an ankle or something, i gotta go hangout w/ my fam's in colorado for a week and can't climb shit, got it?

awesome trip!

That is rad. Nice work!

The north cascades at their finest! Thnak you.

Great reports and photos, Leor!

You and Colin have been unstoppable this summer. Most of us can only dream about travelling that light!
With your photos, the dreams are definitely in color....

I did this exact trip Labor Day weekend..... 3 nights....

I took 5 others with me and told them it was 35 miles so they wouldn't freak out. We did it in the opposite direction.

You're nuts though. Getting all that done in 13 hours is hard for me to imagine! Absolute ballsy. Hats off

Piggybacking off my post from three years ago, I did the same "Suiattle Crest 50 Mile" adventure run last week in 11h44m (1h53m faster) starting from Little Giant TH. While no summits were climbed, this complete loop covers most of the highlights in this region of the Glacier Peak Wilderness including a breathtaking view from Little Giant Pass, a tour through wild Napeequa Valley, 360 vistas from the High Pass area, verdant wildflower meadows, stunning Lyman Lakes, and Spider Gap. It's quintessential cascades scenery - well worth a revisit after three years. With GPS, I found that total elevation gain is actually higher (near 14,000 ft), but distance is a couple miles short of 50 miles. The route/trails are in essentially the same condition as three years ago: Napeequa valley is still quite brushy (and wet in the morning) and the climb up to High Pass is nicely hidden - the use path starts at the far end of the meadow near the cascading stream and it's worth spending the time to find it since the slide alder is unsavory in this area.

It’s sad to note the recession of the Lyman Glacier, which is essentially now a remnant ice patch. Despite relatively healthy snowpacks the last couple years, the glacier has continued to lose thickness appearing noticeably smaller than my visit in 2009 with the terminus even starting to recede from the last glacial lake. It seems only a matter of time before Lyman's permanent ice vanishes entirely. This is one stark example of how global warming is changing the North Cascades. For those who are interested, some video, photos, and time splits from the August 2012 version of the adventure run are located below.


Simplified route on aerial image



Location (Elevation): Time Elapsed / Split / Real Time (difference 2012 vs. 2009)
Little Giant TH (2,600 ft) : 0 / 0 / 06:40
Little Giant Pass (6,409 ft) : 1:18:36 / 1:18:36 / 07:59 (-17)
High Pass (6,876 ft) : 4:30:18 / 3:11:41 / 11:10 (-1:05)
Buck Creek Pass (5,796 ft) : 5:39:01 / 1:08:46 / 12:19 (-1:04)
Cloudy Pass (6,420 ft) : 8:10:20 / 2:31:19 / 14:50 (-1:08)
Spider Gap (7,040 ft) : 9:32:11 / 1:21:50 / 16:12 (-1:28)
Phelps Creek TH (3,500 ft) : 11:01:50 / 1:29:38 / 17:42 (-1:41)
Little Giant TH (2,600 ft) : 11:44:19 / 42:29 / 18:24 (-1:53)

Thanks!

Beautiful Area!

Question?

What is your calorie intake on a day like that. How much and how often of what?